Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke passed away

November 11, 2009

Football fraternity was shocked and appalled on 10th November 2009 when Germany’s goalkeeper Robert Enke died after being hit by a train. He was 32.Robert Enke played for the German club Hannover. Team president Martin Kind confirmed his death after been fatally struck by a train Tuesday night.

Enke first represented his country in 1998–99 in the German Under-21 side. His performances found him a berth in the National squad for the 1999 Confederations Cup, although he did not feature in any games.

He came back to the National squad after being chosen for a friendly against Georgia, and, after first choice Jens Lehmann caught the flu, again against Cyprus.

He finally made his senior international debut for Germany in a 0–1 friendly defeat to Denmark in Duisburg on 28 March 2007. After further games, he was selected for their Euro 2008 squad which would compete in Austria and Switzerland. Enke was an unused substitute during the tournament that saw Germany finish as runners-up. With the international retirement of previous number one Jens Lehmann at Euro 2008, Enke was poised to make the position his own and played in several World Cup 2010 qualifiers. However, in October 2008, he broke the scaphoid of his left hand while training with the national team for a qualifier against Russia. After undergoing surgery, he was sidelined for two months. Upon his return in January 2009, he again became the number one keeper in the national team. In Autumn 2009, Enke had to pause again because of an infection with campylobacter. Due to only recently recovering from this he was not selected for a friendly against Chile that the national team was preparing for when he died. He died having won eight full international caps. His final international appearance came on 12 August 2009 when he kept a clean sheet against Azerbaijan.

Mohunbaganclub.com joins the football fraternity and offers condolences to the members of the bereaved family.